1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for the manufacture of shaped parts from ceramics, in particular for medical or dental-medical purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
In medical engineering, dental medicine or dental engineering, prosthetic parts have hitherto been manufactured mainly from high-quality precious metal alloys, cobalt chromium alloys and partially also from titanium. Due to the necessary bio-compatibility of such medical products, the metal surfaces of these prosthetic parts are usually coated with ceramic substrates. In dental medicine and dental engineering a veneering with dental porcelains, in particular in the anterior tooth region, often takes place for mainly aesthetic reasons.
For a fairly long time, efforts have been made to substitute these metal alloys with completely ceramic systems. However, this requires the use of high-performance ceramics, as are used in industrial ceramics partially with industrially manufactured serial products. In contrast with the industrially manufactured ceramic parts, however, the prosthetic workpieces manufactured in medical engineering or dental engineering are in each case unique, which is why, for economical, material-technical and industrial reasons, the known industrial production methods cannot be used. A further known problem of such high-performance ceramics is the partially great contraction of the ceramic pastes during sintering, which can amount to up to 20%. However, such dimensional changes cannot be tolerated with dental-technical shaped parts, because, for example with bridgework, the distances between the columns (stumps) or the height of the contact points to the antagonist, must be kept within the micrometer range.
For this reason, several attempts have been made to machine prosthetic parts from solid ceramic blocks, the sintering of which is complete (semifinished material), directly by way of machining with geometrically defined cutting edges, machining with geometrically undefined cutting edges or by way of erosion by means of ultrasound erosion or lasers.
The grinding-out or milling of ceramic parts with the aid of diamond tools, for example with the so-called CAD-CAM method, has become generally accepted in practicexe2x80x94although only to a limited extent. With this method, first of all a measurement is taken of the tooth stump, and subsequently of the crown provided thereon, which is available, for example, as a wax model. The data is then entered into a CAD program which controls a milling machine. This milling machine then automatically machines the sintered and high-strength ceramic block. However, expenditure for this is extremely high because the ceramic block which is already sintered is extremely hard. If, for example, high-performance ceramics such as aluminium oxide (Al2O3) or zirconium oxide (ZrO2) are ground, the diamond tools wear out very quickly, resulting in geometry tolerances on the workpiece because the geometry and the diameter of the tools change during the machining. Moreover, at critical points of the prosthesis parts, for example at crown edges, material eruptions or micro-tears can arise. A further problem is represented by the long grinding time, because work can only be done at low eroding rates and at reduced rate of feed, because otherwise great stresses in the material can arise, which can lead in turn to hairline cracks and the like. Moreover, a separating step is necessary, where, at the end of the machining, the milled-out crown is separated from the rest of the ceramic block. With this manual separating and grinding procedure, both geometry errors and material eruptions can arise, with the result that the expensively manufactured part can possibly no longer be used. Finally, the machining of high-performance ceramics requires expensive and automatically operating grinding or milling machines because the dental technician or machine operator can no longer manually control the machining parameters (feed, delivery) at all. Alternatively to the high-performance ceramics, modified dental ceramics can, admittedly, also be used, which permit a still economical grinding machining, but these modified ceramics then also only have reduced strength values.
Alternatively to the machining of ceramic blocks which are already sintered and which are high-strength, methods have therefore been developed, where the ceramic shaped parts are manufactured from a ceramic raw material which is not yet sintered or from presintered material. With two known methods, first of all an impression is made of the machined tooth stump and then a positive is formed, which for its part consists of fire-proof material, in particular ceramics. A tooth crown of wax is formed on to this positive stump, the tooth crown of wax simulating the final shape of the crown. Subsequently, the positive stump, with the wax crown located thereon, is placed upon a rubber base which forms the floor for a rubber ring, with this rubber ring surrounding the positive stump with the wax crown with clearance. A liquid or plastic embedding mass is then introduced into the muffle form formed in this way, the embedding mass surrounding the positive stump with the wax crown apart from a pouring channel. This pouring channel is formed, for example, by a wax cone which is connected to the wax crown.
After the hardening of the embedding mass, the rubber foundation and the rubber ring are removed, so that the hardened embedding mass with the filling wax cone is freely available. This unit is then put into an out-waxing and preheating furnace so that the wax of the wax crown is expelled by way of the filling vent. In this way a cavity corresponding to the wax crown is formed in the embedding mass.
The embedding mass with the cavity located therein and a sintered porcelain blank are then introduced together into a preheating furnace and heated to about 800xc2x0 C. At this temperature the sintered porcelain blank becomes plastic, whereas the embedding mass itself hardens. After the removal of the embedding mass and the plastic porcelain blank from the furnace, the now plastic porcelain is introduced by way of the filling opening into the cavity by means of a pressing device. This pressing-in itself takes place in a special pressing-in furnace. After the cooling of the porcelain mass, the embedding mass is then destroyed so that the crown with the filling vent located therein becomes free. As a concluding step, finally the separation of the crown from the filling vent, which has arisen in the pouring channel, and a final external machining take place.
With this method also there is the danger that tears can arise in the crown upon separation of the porcelain crown from the filling vent. The use of an already sintered porcelain blank guarantees that no more shrinkage occurs with the crown if it is subsequently fired again in the baking oven. In contrast with ceramics, porcelain which is already sintered can again be plasticized upon heating to about 800xc2x0 C., this no longer being possible with ceramics even at extremely high temperatures. However, compared with porcelain, ceramics have considerably greater bending strength. The manufacture of two or more crowns which are connected to each other by way of a connecting bar, is, for example, not possible with porcelain, because this connecting bar would break. Such complicated dental-technical shaped parts can therefore only be manufactured with ceramic material. This is the reason why porcelain is usually only used for inlays, onlays or single crowns.
The method currently most widespread in dental engineering for the manufacture of ceramic crowns is the so-called slip method. In this respect, an impression is first of all made of the machined tooth stump and then a metal frame, in particular of gold, titanium or the like, is prepared. This metal frame consists of a thin layer fitting the tooth stump and finally produces a cup-shaped part. Ceramic material is then applied to this frame in plastic form (slip) in several layers, with a firing of the metal frame with the applied ceramic slip taking place in each case after the application of a layer. In this way the crown is coated unevenly on the outside and is adapted to the teeth. In this respect, the ceramic slip is applied to the metal frame with a brush, but has the disadvantage that it contains a high content of liquid, in particular water, which leads to a shrinkage of the material during firing. This shrinkage can only be calculated with difficulty, for which reason the ceramic mass must also be applied in several layers.
A further method for the manufacture of dental ceramic parts, where the shrinkage of the ceramic material is considered, is described in EP 0 389 461 B1. Here it is suggested to first of all prepare by way of an impression a negative copy of the surface of the machined tooth stump and subsequently to machine an isostatically compressed ceramic green compact by means of copy-milling. During the copy-milling, the sinter shrinkage is considered, in that the surface of the machined green compact is enlarged somewhat in order to offset the subsequent shrinkage again. In the process, however, by way of the copy-milling only the underside of the ceramic green compact is machined, the upper side of the shaped part also being covered after the sintering with a porcelain layer and being brought into the final shape. In a similar manner it is also suggested in EP 0 375 647 B1 to machine a ceramic green compact before the sintering by way of milling.
However, the machining of such a green compact turns out to be quite difficult because the compressed material is very brittle. The two publications named previously give no information as to how these difficulties can be overcome. In a further development, therefore, in EP 0 580 565 A2 it is suggested to compress the powdery ceramic raw material against the surface of a positive copy of the machined tooth stump. In this respect, in turn the positive copy is enlarged compared with the tooth stump in order to compensate for the shrinkage. Here also the surface of the ceramic shaped part is covered with a porcelain layer.
In order to avoid this shrinkage of the ceramics during sintering, the shrinkage being difficult to calculate, in EP 0 030 850 the use of a shrinkage-free ceramic material is suggested. In this respect, the raw material is pressed or poured in powdery or in liquid form into a prefabricated casting mould, the structure of which corresponds substantially with the shape of the ceramic part to be manufactured, or is in turn pressed against a stamp which is an exact copy of the tooth stump. As with the other methods, here also therefore, first of all a very costly manufacture of an appropriate casting mould is necessary.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a simple and economical method for the manufacture of shaped parts of ceramics, which can be carried out, for example, by a dentist or dental technician directly in a medical laboratory, practice laboratory or commercial laboratory.
The object is achieved by a method which includes the steps of compressing a powdery ceramic raw material to form a ceramic green compact, embedding the compact in an embedding mass which is held in a workpiece receiver and which does not damage or chemically react with the material of the ceramic green compact, machining the ceramic green compact to form a predetermined contour thereon while at least a portion of the compact is embedded in the embedding mass, and then sintering the machined ceramic green compact to form a high-strength ceramic shaped part.
In the method in accordance with the invention, first of all the powdery ceramic raw material is compressed to form a ceramic green compact, this ceramic green compact is then machined by means of eroding methods and is subsequently sintered to form a high-strength ceramic shaped part, with the green compact being embedded before the machining into a workpiece receiver by means of an embedding mass, which neither damages nor reacts chemically with the green compact. In the process, the initially powdery ceramic raw material is only put by the compressing into a state where it can be machined at all. The state of the ceramic green compact is then similar to that of chalk, that is to say, in comparison with already sintered ceramic blocks it can be machined substantially more easily, more quickly and with little abrasion of the tools and accordingly much more accurately. By way of the embedding in accordance with the invention, the ceramic green compact is both fixed and supported during the machining, so that no erupting of thin walls or other damage is to be feared and it can therefore be effectively and accurately machined. A further advantage of this method consists in that excess raw material, which is removed by milling during machining of the ceramic green compact, can be recovered again and reused, with the material expenditure being clearly reduced as a result. As the machining tools are also stressed less and therefore achieve a longer service life, the method in accordance with the invention is to be regarded as substantially more economical compared with the known methods, where ceramic blocks which are already sintered are machined. According to the method in accordance with the invention, in medicine, dental medicine and dental engineering, bio-compatible implant parts, inlays, partial crowns, crowns, bridges, prosthesis bases or auxiliary parts can be economically manufactured accurately and with high mechanical strength adapted to the purpose of use. In particular with this method there is the possibility of bringing a ceramic green compact, the original shape of which has nothing in common with the final structure of the ceramic shaped part to be manufactured, exclusively by way of machining by means of eroding methods, into the desired final shape, without compressing the materialxe2x80x94as in the known methodsxe2x80x94into a casting mould or against a stamp.
Further developments of the invention are described in detail here inafter. An essential aspect of the method lies in the selection of the ceramic raw material. This should shrink as little as possible during the sintering, and in the ideal case should be almost shrinkage-free. A ceramic material which fulfills these conditions is, for example, zirconium (ZrSiO4), the properties of which will be described in more detail. However, it would also be conceivable to use the already known and frequently used ceramics zirconium oxide (ZrO2) or aluminium oxide (Al2O3). These shrink to a certain degree during the sintering. However, the ceramic green compact usually compressed to form a cube or to be box-shaped, has an extremely even material density, so that it is to be expected that the material shrinks evenly and therefore foreseeably during the sintering. In contrast with the known methods, where, for example, the powder is pressed into a casting mould or is poured in under pressure, and where, therefore, an uneven density distribution of the raw material is often not to be avoided, with the method in accordance with the invention the shrinkage process can be taken into account very easily and can be compensated for by manufacturing larger shaped parts before the sintering.
Also described herein are advantageous embodiments of the machining process of the ceramic green compact. The ceramic green compact is preferably machined with the aid of an eroding machinexe2x80x94for example a milling, turning, drilling or grinding machine, with the machining being able to take place automatically. The corresponding control commands for the eroding machine can then be contained in a special erosion program which is prepared, for example, on the basis of a three-dimensionally measured positive model of the tooth stump and the tooth crown. In this respect, when preparing the erosion program, parameters such as, for example, a desired cement gap width or a possible shrinkage factor of the raw ceramic material can be considered. A suitable milling wax, for example, can be used as embedding mass. The machining of the green compact can take place in several steps in which, in each case, certain areas of the green compact are machined, with the areas of the green compact, which have already been machined previously, being surrounded again with the embedding mass and thereby being stabilized. In this way the very thin side walls of ceramic crowns can therefore be protected during the machining. By melting the milling wax, after the machining the ceramic green compact can then be carefully extracted again. This milling wax and the embedding mass can also be collected during the machining of the green compact and reused.
The properties of three preferably used ceramic materials are now to be discussed.
The very frequently used aluminium oxide (Al2O3) is also known by the name corundum. In addition to many and diverse possibilities of using this material in industry (for example as abrasives, grinding materials, fire-proof materials), aluminium oxide is a very frequently used oxide in most varied clay minerals and ceramics which are used in the case of ceramic tooth replacement, but also in flower vases or coffee-cups. Aluminium oxide is in particular a material suitable for tooth replacement because it has a tooth-coloured appearance, high resistance to abrasion, chemical resistance, biological compatibility and a pleasant contact feeling with pickled or polished ceramic surfaces. A further advantage is also to be seen in that aluminium oxide is X-ray translucent and tooth crowns consisting of it do not cause any artefacts during X-ray examinations, which could lead to misinterpretations of the X-ray image.
Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) can occur in several different crystal modifications. As zirconium oxides have, among the known ceramic materials, the highest bending strength and tensile strength values, high resistance to wear and resistance to corrosion and low thermal conductivity, in recent years they have become increasingly significant in the technical and medical field. As a result of their excellent properties, zirconium oxide ceramics are preferably used for components which can be greatly mechanically loaded. Moreover, zirconium oxide displays only relatively little contraction during the sintering.
On the basis of zirconium oxide (ZrO2), with the aid of a reaction sintering method, ZrSiO4 ceramics, which are almost shrinkage-free, can be manufactured. This is achieved in that a reactive component contained in the raw ceramic green compact enlarges its volume during the sintering and therefore compensates for the shrinkage of the remaining components. A method of this kind which is suitable for zirconium oxides is described, for example, in the article xe2x80x9cVerfahren zur Herstellung schrumpffreier ZrSiO4-Keramikenxe2x80x9d (xe2x80x9cMethod for the manufacture of shrinkage-free ZrSiO4-ceramicsxe2x80x9d) of the Keramische Zeitschrift (Ceramics Journal) 50(4) 1998. In this case an intermetallic compound (zirconium disilicide, ZrSi2) is used as reactive component. In addition, polysiloxane, a so-called low-loss binder, is used as pressing aid, which reacts during the sintering with the zirconium disilicide and the zirconium oxide to form the desired ceramics (ZrSiO4). The essential advantage of this reaction sintering method consists in that the sinter shrinkage to be expected, which is a function of the portion of the various reaction components, can be estimated with the aid of a simple calculation. The required content of the reactive component, that is to say of the zirconium disilicide (ZrSi2), can then be calculated, where a shrinkage of almost 0% occurs.
As a result of the properties just described, with these ZrSiO4-ceramics micro-structured components can be manufactured, the dimensions of which are identical before and after the sintering. A mechanical finishing, which is often not at all possible with very small detail structures without damaging the workpiece, is then no longer necessary. For the same reasons, these ceramics are therefore also excellently suitable for the manufacture of dental-medical or dental-technical parts, in particular of tooth crowns with thin walls.
As a result of their properties, the three ceramic materials just named are particularly well suited for use in the dental-medical field. Nevertheless, the method in accordance with the invention is not restricted to these materials, but can also be used with other ceramic materials, for example with magnesium oxide (MgO), aluminium titanate (ATi) or piezo-ceramics (PZT), not only in medical, but also in technical fields. In this respect, the use of a shrinkage-free ceramic material is indeed particularly advantageous, but in no way absolutely necessary becausexe2x80x94as already notedxe2x80x94by way of the even compression of the material to form a green compact, a homogeneous density distribution, and accordingly an even and therefore controllable shrinking of the shaped part during the sintering, is achieved.